Ceremony
by inevitably
Summary: Zel/Link His piercing blue eyes that never left hers seemed feral, nothing like the soft blue, trusting eyes of the pale children who were raised in the castle to be good Heroes. His skin was tanned; years of sunlight had made him golden. He needed no reflection from ceremonial jewellery; he seemed to glow as he walked through the light streaming down on him from the windows above.


Priestess, High Sage and Queen, Zelda stood behind the altar of the Temple of Time and observed the four kneeling before her. Lowered to the ground in rightful respect, were four pairs of what she knew to be startling, sapphire blue eyes. Bowed before her were four heads of golden hair. The ears that were waiting to heed her every word were pointed, unconsciously tuned to the whispers of the Goddesses. Of course, she noted from the fists that were closed over their chests, all four were left-handed. The four in front of her were Hylian, though only their ears gave that away. Like the fiery red hair and dark dusky skin of the Gerudo and unlike the varied features of humans, Hylians were noted for their pale brunettes, and for their forest green eyes. That is why the four boys had been chosen. All four had been named Link, as was the law if a child of such colouring were born. Each boy had turned 21 that very year, and each donned the robe of the ceremony of the Hero. Heavy, deep green fabric draped over their shoulders, inhibiting movement. The robes were purely for ceremony. Tiny Triforce earrings hung from each of their ears, the greyed light of the rainy sky cascading into the Temple from the upper-windows sent golden shadows onto their milky necks. Every year since she herself had turned 21 and awoken as Sage and possessor of the Triforce of Wisdom had she stood behind that altar. Her father, like her, had done the same, year after year, guided by the Elder Sages, searching for the Hero. Her father must have seen hundreds of boys who looked just like the four before her now, every year a different number, some years just one. She remembered those years the most. Every boy would be brought to the castle on their third birthday to be trained, some boys died fighting before they turned 21, some years only one boy in the kingdom fit the description they needed. On the occasion that there was only one boy going to the ceremony, though it had only happened twice in her lifetime, the castle would be filled with an expectant hush, the sound of whispers all around filling her head like the fluttering of wings.

"Maybe _he's _the one-""Oh I don't _know…_he's a little on the thin side-""No, not _tall _enough-""Oh it's _definitely _him this time!"

Zelda focused on the four kneeling on the stone floor before her again with her own unusual blue-grey eyes and stood up straight, shook off the feeling of disappointment from the past and reminded herself to always have hope. Finally she reminded herself that the boys that were not the Hero were not disappointments, and many had gone on to serve as loyal captains of battle throughout her kingdom. She took a breath and prepared herself to speak. She ran her eyes over her council, then the representatives of the towns the boys had come from, then finally their families, silent gratitude filled her as she appreciated their sacrifices, and the sacrifices of many other families through the years. Finally, she spoke,

"Rise, so the Goddesses may look upon your faces."

Her voice was powerful, and she felt the power of the Three Goddesses rush through her veins. She felt her memories of Hylia within her too, stirring as the possibility of meeting her Chosen Hero came closer. The four boys, no – _men, _stood slowly. They jingled and rustled quietly as their robes moved around them. Their left fists remained closed over their chests as they raised their faces towards her. Though they had the same colouring, they could not have been said to look similar. Facially, they were completely different, except for the twins. Different regions created different dominant features, she thought to herself as she began to focus on each of their faces. She started from the left, as was tradition, on the boy nicknamed Kako, after the village he had come from, to the right of him stood his brother, Riko. Zelda knew instantly the Triforce of Courage could not be split between two, and quickly discounted them as candidates. She studied them all the same, allowing them to stand up straight and puff out their chests as far as they would go, as though that would sway the Goddesses their way. Both were attractive enough she thought, but she didn't like how their heads seemed too small for their shoulders. She briefly wondered when she had come to study men like that, and knew that it was due to her being 28, a Queen, unmarried and having had faced too many a suitor to remember…Though she _could_ remember to do her job as Sage. She took Kako's left hand in her own gloved ones and concentrated. She felt nothing. She spoke softly to him, knowing only he would hear her,

"Neither Hylia nor The Trinity have chosen you, though if you find it within your heart to continue, the Kingdom of Hyrule would gladly accept you as its protector."

He nodded and smiled at her, stepping back from the altar he bowed before heading to his family. _No, _she thought, _it would never have been him. _She continued onto Riko and found the same result. She repeated the words to him and he joined his brother. Two remained. The third had been nicknamed Lan, from Lanayru Province and she smiled at him as she took his hand. He was a little shorter than the others, frame neater, and his eyes were darker blue. She was reminded of the deep waters of Lake Hylia. Fitting that he be from that province, she thought to herself as she concentrated again. Once again she felt nothing. She again spoke the words, watching as he quietly joined his family. _It could've been him. _She thought fleetingly. _It really could've been him._

The last boy was oddly average in every way. His name was Cas, as he had been from Castle Town, and she had noted his parents. They were by far the most upper class of all the families. He left no particular impression on her, and she found herself strangely underwhelmed by him. _Not underwhelmed, disappointed. _She thought sadly. The men were always organized by Impa, her personal protector, from left to right, left being the least promising, right being the most promising, though this was never told to anyone. She frowned slightly and glanced towards the doors to the Temple, around where Impa should have been guarding the doors. Zelda's frown deepened as she noted her absence before remembering her place and approaching the fourth boy. She wondered what Impa found so promising about him. Perhaps it was something to do with his fighting ability she mused, as she studied his plain face, his eyes that were slightly too far apart, his slightly too thin lips, his arms that seemed just a little too long…She closed her eyes as she took his hand, flashes of memories that were not from this life ran through her head. A Hero that was beautiful, a Hero chosen by the Goddesses, a Hero that she had grown to love in lifetimes lost…She concentrated on Cas' energy and let out the breath she wasn't aware she was holding as she felt nothing. His energy was cold. She dropped his hand almost eagerly as she spoke the words she had spoken for so many years. He joined his family who seemed just as relieved as she did. She spoke again,

"As the events that have unfolded today before you witnesses and the witness of the Goddesses have shown us, the year of the return of the Hero is not-"

"Queen!" Impa's voice rang through the Temple, warning echoing sharply against the stone. Zelda stopped speaking; she felt something stir within her. Something was outside.

"I told ya, I ain't gonna hurt 'er! But ya gotta at least let _'im _in! I thought this 'ole ceremony thing was for 'im anyway!" The voice was loud and Zelda couldn't place the accent. She heard the clipped, low sound of Impa's voice but she couldn't make out the words. The temple was still; all the inhabitants had turned to look at the great door. It was sealed shut, and no one was meant to enter after the ceremony had begun. There was a hush. But unlike when she was a child, no whispers reached her now. A wave of nervousness in her stomach hit her hard as the doors began to open. She wondered why the Goddesses weren't whispering in her ears to make_itstop. _The doors weren't meant to open it was _tradition it was-_

The doors opened, revealing the slim, tall figure of Impa stood to the left of a large Goron. Zelda's voice filled her in that instant as she watched her people scramble away from the door. The soul of the Goddess Hylia rushed to her throat and her voice boomed through the Temple with the rage of an ancient disrespected deity,

"_How dare you defile this sacred place, who are you to open the –"_

A figure stepped out from behind the Goron and everything stopped. The air left her lungs; her voice was swiftly cut away. The Temple seemed to shift around her. The walls shuddering, dissolving and then reforming over and over into the different designs the Temple had had through her lifetimes. The people around her blurred, they were all forgotten, but the figure by the door was not lost. The sound of the rain drops hitting the stone floor as it fell from his golden hair as he slowly approached her echoed around her. After that all sound was silenced apart from the sound of his footsteps. The sound cascaded over her as time seemed to slow around them. His piercing blue eyes that never left hers seemed feral, nothing like the soft blue, trusting eyes of the pale children who were raised in the castle to be good Heroes. His skin was tanned; years of sunlight had made him golden. He needed no reflection from ceremonial jewellery; he seemed to glow as he walked through the light streaming down on him from the windows above. His body was shrouded in a dark travelling cloak, but she could see his movements were sharp; he was alert, like an animal. He had grazing on his left cheekbone, blood still flecked his face, she noticed as he stopped before her, just below the steps to the altar. He slowly dropped to his knee, his left fist coming to rest over his chest as he lowered his head to her in age-old respect. She noticed the chipped sword strapped to his back, nothing like the Master Sword, and she saw the glow of the Triforce of Courage on the back of his hand as he waited.

She stared down at him; breath hitching as tears silently left her eyes as memories rushed back to her. Memories of standing before a throne, the Hero knelt before her, so many memories…She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand and said quietly,

"Rise, so the Goddesses may look upon your face."

He stood, a soft, almost sad, smile playing at his lips as he looked at her again. She took his hand in hers, feeling the rush of the Triforce spread up her arm instantly. She studied his face; he stared back at her relentlessly. She kept eye contact with his fierce eyes as she spoke the words she had begun to doubt she would ever say,

"Hylia, and The Trinity, have chosen you…"

She paused for his name.

"Link." He said quietly, his tone amused. His voice was low and she barely caught what he said. She would have guessed his name anyway.

"…Link, to be the Bearer of Courage and to house the soul of the Hero of Legends. Are you willing?"

He looked down at their hands then, her hands still clasping his single, left one. The rain from his skin had wet her gloves, but she still felt warmth radiating from his hand – from the Triforce. He was silent for a long time, she wondered if he would simply turn and walk out then. He had done it in other lives, she remembered, when he had become sick of the fighting, sick of everything. He had just walked away, into darkness, letting everything fall to ruin. She watched as his eyelashes fluttered slightly before he looked back up at her again, face serious.

"I'm here. I came back. I won't walk away this time. Not from you, not from any of this."

She squeezed his hands softly and smiled.

"Welcome back."

**Author's Note**

Thank you for reading, please review if there's anything I can improve or if you just want to say hi.


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